Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Transport Properties of the

Article pubs.acs.org/IC

Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Transport Properties of the Hexagonal Mo9 Cluster Compound Ag3RbMo9Se11 Patrick Gougeon,*,† Philippe Gall,† Odile Merdrignac-Conanec,† Lionel Aranda,‡ Anne Dauscher,‡ Christophe Candolfi,‡ and Bertrand Lenoir‡ †

Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, UMR 6226 CNRS−Université de Rennes 1−INSA de Rennes, 11 allée de Beaulieu, CS 50837, 35708 Rennes Cedex, France ‡ Institut Jean Lamour, UMR 7198 CNRS−Université de Lorraine, Parc de Saurupt, CS 50840, 54011 Nancy, France ABSTRACT: Mo-based cluster compounds are promising candidates for thermoelectric applications at high temperatures due to their very low lattice thermal conductivity values. Here, we report on a detailed investigation of the crystal structure and transport properties measured in a wide range of temperatures (2−800 K) of polycrystalline Ag3RbMo9Se11. Single-crystal Xray diffraction shows that this compound crystallizes in the hexagonal space group P63/m. The crystal structure is formed by stacked Mo9Se11 units leaving channels that are randomly filled by Rb+ cations, while Ag+ cations are located between the Mo9Se11 units. The high disorder in the unit cell induced by these atoms and their large anisotropic thermal displacement parameters are two key characteristics that lead to very low lattice thermal conductivity as low as 0.6 W m−1 K−1 at 800 K. The combination of semiconducting-like electrical properties and low ability to transport heat leads to a maximum dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of 0.4 at 800 K.

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m−1 K−1).4,5 The origin of this amorphous-like heat transport is tied to the large voids located between the Mo9Sei11Sea6 bioctahedral clusters (where i and a stand for innen and außen, respectively, according to Schäfer’s notation28), where Ag+ cations are distributed over four independent crystallographic sites and exhibit large anisotropic thermal displacement parameters.4,5,17 This remarkable property results in a maximum ZT of 0.65 at 800 K reached at the maximum Ag filling level of x = 3.8.4 We recently investigated the possibility to further tune the carrier concentration of these compounds through substitutions on the Se site by either S or Te.18 Relative to the pristine sample, the increased metallic character of the electronic transport did not yield enhanced ZT values. Furthermore, the low solubility limit of both chalcogen atoms suggests that the Mo−Se clusters are less flexible to substitutions than the Ag sites are. Our prior studies with Tl and Cu partially replacing Ag have shown that good thermoelectric properties could be obtained at high temperatures with ZT values of ∼0.6 at 800 K for the Tl and Cu compounds.6,19 Of note, such substitutions can also result in different structure types as exemplified by the Tl-containing compound Ag2Tl2Mo9Se11 crystallizing in the trigonal space group R3̅c and for which bi-octahedral Mo9 units are connected to six neighboring cluster units.6 Another example of this polymorphism is provided by the alkali element Cs, which leads to the hexagonal compound Ag2.6CsMo9Se11 (space group P63/m).20 Its crystal structure also contains Mo9Sei11Sea6 bi-octahedral cluster units that form tunnels

INTRODUCTION Thermoelectric materials possess the remarkable ability to directly convert heat into electrical current and vice versa, offering many prospects in waste-heat energy recovering.1−3 Yet, a broad use of this technology has so far been prevented due to the low conversion efficiency reached in state-of-the-art thermoelectric compounds.1−3 The thermoelectric efficiency is determined by the dimensionless figure of merit ZT = α2T/ ρ(κL + κe).1−3 High ZT materials should exhibit, at a given absolute temperature T, a high thermopower α, a low electrical resistivity ρ, and low lattice (κL) and electronic thermal conductivity (κe). Hence, the crystal structure of an ideal thermoelectric material should show crystallographic features scattering efficiently acoustic phonons but without being at the expense of the mobility of the charge carriers. This unusual and conflicting combination of transport properties makes the design of such a material a complex challenge. Mo-based cluster compounds provide a particularly interesting area of research to find novel compounds that show intrinsically very low lattice thermal conductivity values of ∼0.5 W m−1 K−1 above room temperature.4−9 In addition to being nearly optimized with respect to the thermal transport, these phases offer several degrees of freedom to tune their electrical properties including the size and geometry of Mo clusters as well as the rich variety of elements that can be inserted in the voids left by the three-dimensional arrangement of these clusters.10−16 Among the phases recently studied, our initial works on the transport properties of the AgxMo9Se11 (3.4 ≤ x ≤ 3.8) compounds revealed promising thermoelectric properties at 800 K that primarily stem from their very low lattice thermal conductivity that nears the glassy limit at 800 K (0.5 W © 2017 American Chemical Society

Received: May 11, 2017 Published: August 3, 2017 9684

DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01200 Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 9684−9692

Article

Inorganic Chemistry running along the [001] direction, where the Cs cations reside. The Ag+ cations occupy statistically 6h sites in the mirror planes around the ternary axis between two adjacent Mo9Se11 units. Here, we report on the novel compound Ag3RbMo9Se11 that crystallizes isostructurally to Ag2.6CsMo9Se11. We explored its electrical and thermal properties in a wide temperature range (5−800 K) and show that this compound exhibits semiconducting-like electrical properties and very low thermal conductivity values that remain well under 1 W m−1 K−1 between 5 and 800 K, yielding a maximum ZT value of 0.4 at 800 K.

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EXPERIMENTAL SECTION

Syntheses and Densification. All the elemental powders were stored and manipulated in an argon-filled, dry glovebox. The synthesis of Ag3RbMo9Se11 was realized by using powders of the precursors MoSe2 and Rb2Mo6Se6 mixed with elemental Ag and Mo powders. Mo powder was heated under H2 flowing gas at 1273 K for 10 h to eliminate possible traces of oxygen. The MoSe2 precursor was synthesized by direct reaction of Mo and Se in stoichiometric proportions placed in an evacuated silica tube at 973 K for 48 h. The Rb2Mo6Se6 precursor was synthesized in two steps. First, the ternary compound In2Mo6Se6 was prepared by heating a mixture of InSe, MoSe2, and Mo powders in stoichiometric proportions at 1273 K during 36 h in an evacuated silica tube. The second step consisted in an ion-exchange reaction of In2Mo6Se6 with RbCl at 1073 K. For this purpose, In2Mo6Se6 and RbCl powders were mixed in the proportion of 1:2.5 and subsequently cold-pressed. The cylindrical pellet was introduced in a long silica ampule sealed under vacuum. The end of the ampule, where the pellet was placed, was introduced in a furnace, heated at 1073 K during 2 d, while keeping the other end of the tube at room temperature. All these starting compounds were single-phase according to their laboratory powder X-ray diffraction patterns. At 1473 K, single-phase powders of Ag3−xRbMo9Se11 were observed for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4. Note that, here, we restricted our transport property investigation to the x = 0.0 compound. The resulting polycrystalline pellets of Ag3RbMo9Se11 were finely ground and densified by hot uniaxial pressing (HUP) realized under a residual argon pressure (∼1 × 10−2 mbar). A quantity of ∼5 g of Ag3RbMo9Se11 was introduced into a graphite crucible (Ø = 12 mm) that was before coated with boron nitride. The pressure was applied from the beginning of the temperature increase (8 °C/min) to the end of the high-temperature dwell of 2 h at 1473 K. The applied load was 50 MPa at the beginning of the heating and was gradually augmented up to 85 MPa when the temperature of 1473 K was obtained. The experimental density was determined from the dimensions and weight of the pellet and was ∼98% of its theoretical value. Single-Crystal and Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD). Measurements were performed with a Nonius Kappa CCD diffractometer using Mo Kα radiation (λ = 0.710 73 Å) on a small single crystal obtained by heating a powder of Ag3RbMo9Se11 to 1573 K, at which temperature the latter compound begins to decompose. An absorption correction (Tmin = 0.1121, Tmax = 0.2754) based on the crystal shape was used.21 Structure solution and full matrix leastsquares refinements were performed using the Sir97 and SHELX softwares, respectively.22,23 After refinement of the Mo−Se framework, a subsequent difference-Fourier synthesis reveals the presence of Ag atoms and a quasi-continuous electron density along the c axis due to the Rb atoms (Figure 1). The latter was modeled with three partly occupied rubidium sites using second-order tensors for the anisotropic displacement parameters. Anharmonic treatment of the rubidium atoms using the program JANA200024 was unsuccessful. The final occupation factors for the Ag atoms were refined freely. Analysis of the intensity data using the TwinRotMat routine of PLATON25 revealed the studied crystal was twinned by merohedry with [100, −1−10, 00− 1] as the twin matrix. The ratio of the twin components was refined to 0.0175(6):0.9825(6), which lowered the R factor from 0.0425 to

Figure 1. Fourier difference maps along the c axis in Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 (a) after refinement of the Mo−Se framework (step: 2 e Å−3) and (b) after the final refinement. 0.0321. The relevant parameters of the data collection and structure refinement are listed in Table 1. The refined crystallographic parameters and selected interatomic distances are given in Tables 2

Table 1. Relevant Parameters of the Single-Crystal Data Collection and Structure Refinement of Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 empirical formula molar mass (g mol−1) temperature symmetry space group a (Å) c (Å) V (Å3) Z ρ (g·cm−3) crystal size (mm3) radiation θ range (deg) absorption coefficient (mm−1) limiting indices reflection collected/unique refinement method data/parameters final R indices [I > 2σ(I)] R indices (all data) extinction coefficient largest diff. peak and hole (e· Å−3) goodness-of-fit on F2 9685

Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 2098.49 293(2) K hexagonal P63/m 10.0384(2) 11.9930(2) 1046.62(5) 2 6.659 0.08 × 0.07 × 0.06 Mo Kα (0.710 69 Å) 1.698−34.989 28.991 −16 ≤ h ≤ 12, −10 ≤ k ≤ 16, − 19 ≤ l ≤ 19 14 329/1604 full-matrix least-squares on F2 1604/53 R1 = 0.0321, wR2 = 0.0724 R1 = 0.0399, wR2 = 0.0753 0.000 48(9) 1.859 and −1.618 1.159 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01200 Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 9684−9692

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Inorganic Chemistry

Table 2. Fractional Atomic Coordinates, Equivalent Isotropic Displacement Parameters (Å2), Wyckoff Positions, and Site Occupancy Factors (s.o.f.) for Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 atom

x

y

z

Ueq (Å2)

Wyckoff

s.o.f.

Mo1 Mo2 Se1 Se2 Se3 Ag1 Rb1 Rb2 Rb3

0.176 52(4) 0.179 87(6) 0.047 81(6) 0.028 78(8) 0.3333 −0.257 35(9) 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

0.522 75(4) 0.674 82(6) 0.695 86(6) 0.377 73(8) 0.6667 0.144 72(9) 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

0.564 10(3) 0.7500 0.565 33(4) 0.7500 0.106 77(7) 0.7500 −0.150(7) 0.2500 0.0000

0.010 01(9) 0.009 50(11) 0.013 04(11) 0.013 04(14) 0.014 27(16) 0.0278(2) 0.08(2) 0.080(8) 0.280(18)

12i 6h 12i 6h 4f 6h 4e 2a 2b

1 1 1 1 1 0.869(4) 0.065(9) 0.152(13) 0.718(17)

Low-Temperature Transport Properties. Bar-shapes and disks were cut from the consolidated pellet with a diamond-wire saw for transport property measurements. Electrical resistivity, thermopower, and thermal conductivity were measured simultaneously between 5 and 300 K on bar-shaped samples (∼1.5 × 1.5 × 8 mm3) using the thermal transport option (TTO) of a physical property measurement system (PPMS, Quantum Design). Electrical and thermal contacts were realized by gluing four copper bars with conducting silver epoxy. Hall effect measurements were performed at selected temperatures between 5 and 300 K and under magnetic fields ranging between −1 and +1 T. The measurements were performed using a five-probe method with the alternating current (AC) transport option of the PPMS. The electrical contacts were realized by attaching copper wires onto the samples using a small amount of silver paste. Specific heat was measured from 300 to 2 K by a conventional relaxation method using the PPMS. The sample of ∼15 mg was glued onto the sample holder by a minute amount of Apiezon N grease. High-Temperature Transport Properties. A ZEM-3 apparatus (Ulvac-Riko) was used to measure simultaneously the electrical resistivity and thermopower between 300 and 800 K on bar-shaped samples (∼1.5 × 1.5 × 8 mm3). The thermal conductivity was determined between 300 and 800 K through thermal diffusivity (a) measurements using a laser flash instrument (LFA 467, Netzsch). These measurements were conducted on disk-shaped samples (∼12 mm in diameter, ∼1 mm in thickness) spray-coated with graphite prior to measurements to obtain a homogeneous signal absorption and emission. Both quantities are related via the relation κ = αCPd, where CP is the specific heat, and d is the density. CP was evaluated using the Dulong−Petit law (CP = 3NR in which N is the number of atoms per formula unit, and R is the gas constant) and, hence, was considered temperature-independent in the covered temperature range. Here, we neglected the temperature dependence of the density. Longitudinal and transverse sound velocities were measured at 300 K on diskshaped sample using a pulse-echo method. We utilize honey to ensure a good coupling between the sample and the ultrasonic transducers.

and 3, respectively. More details on the crystal structure study can be obtained from the Fachinformationszentrum Karlsruhe, 76344

Table 3. Main Interatomic Distances (Å) for Ag2.6RbMo9Se11, Ag2.6CsMo9Se11, and h-Mo9Se11 distances

Ag2.6RbMo9Se11

Ag2.6Cs2.6Mo9Se11

h-Mo9Se11

Mo(1)−Mo(1) Mo(1)−Mo(2) Mo(1)−Mo(2) Mo(2)−Mo(2) Mo(1)−Se(3) Mo(1)−Se(1) Mo(1)−Se(1) Mo(1)−Se(2) Mo(1)−Se(1) Mo(2)−Se(2) Mo(2)−Se(2) Mo(2)−Se(1) (×2) Ag(1)−Se(2) Ag(1)−Se(1) (×2) Ag(1)−Se(3) (×2) Rb(1)−Se(1) (×3) Rb(1)−Se(2) (×3) Rb(2)−Se(2) (×3) Rb(2)−Se(1) (×6) Rb(3)−Se(1) (×6)

2.6216(7) 2.6928(5) 2.7376(5) 2.7419(10) 2.5475(8) 2.6034(6) 2.6334(6) 2.6703(5) 2.7120(6) 2.5829(9) 2.5853(9) 2.6433(6) 2.6463(10) 2.7760(7) 2.9261(9) 3.47(2) 3.85(3) 3.6560(7) 3.9902(5) 3.4104(5)

2.6270(4) 2.6937(4) 2.7365(4) 2.7423(6) 2.5439(5) 2.6035(7) 2.6328(6) 2.6683(3) 2.7130(4) 2.5808(6) 2.5902(5) 2.6408(5) 2.6408(5) 2.7935(5) 2.8719(7)

2.6820(6) 2.7370(4) 2.7985(5 2.6838(9) 2.5234(7) 2.5909(6) 2.6000(6) 2.7026(5) 2.6090(6) 2.5672(8) 2.5893(8) 2.5357(5)

Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany, (fax: (49) 7247−808−666; email: crysdata@fiz.karlsruhe.de) on quoting the depository number CSD-433045. PXRD data were collected on bulk pieces ground into fine powders and placed on a zero-background Si sample holder. The data were collected at 300 K with a Bruker D8 Advance diffractometer with Cu Kα1 radiation (λ = 1.540 56 Å). Refinements were performed with the Fullprof and Jana2000 software.24,26 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). SEM experiments were performed to unveil possible secondary phases, the concentration of which is below the detection limit of PXRD. Images were collected on polished surfaces of bulk pieces in the backscattering electron (BSE) mode using a Quanta 650 FEG (FEI). Corresponding X-ray elemental maps were taken to determine the distribution of the elements within the sample. Thermogravimetry and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TG−DSC). Bulk pieces of the dense pellets were used for TG−DSC analysis. Data were collected using a TG−DSC 92−16.18 apparatus (Setaram). A sample of ∼48 mg was loaded into an alumina crucible. The thermal response of the sample was monitored between 300 and 800 K under an argon flow with a constant low heating rate of 2 K min−1 to obtain a good thermal coupling between the sample and the crucible.

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Crystal Structure. The crystal structure was successfully refined on a single crystal with the final composition Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 in the hexagonal space group P63/m. The substoichiometry in Ag stems from the higher temperature (1573 K) used during the crystal-growth process, which led to a loss of silver as observed by the formation of silver droplets at the top of the tube. The Mo−Se network results from interlinked Mo9Se11 clusters via Mo−Se bonds (Figure 2a). The Mo9Se11 unit has the point symmetry C3h and can be viewed as resulting from the uniaxial face-sharing of two Mo6Se8 units after removal of the Se atoms capping the shared faces. Alternatively, the Mo9Se11 can be viewed as the superposition of three quasi-planar Mo3Se3 in staggered position, instead of two in Mo6Se8 clusters, with two additional Se atoms capping the outer triangular faces. The Mo−Mo and Mo−Se bond 9686

DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01200 Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 9684−9692

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Inorganic Chemistry

Figure 3. Selenium environments of the Ag atoms (the thermal ellipsoids are drawn at the 97% probability level).

Rb1 and Rb3 are each surrounded by six Se atoms forming flattened octahedra along the ternary axis. The Rb−Se distances spread over a wide range, 3.4104 (5)−3.9902 (5) Å. Both the Ag and Rb sites are partially occupied, introducing strong positional disorder in the unit cell. As in other Mo cluster chalcogenides,4−12 the Ag and particularly the Rb atoms exhibit large anisotropic thermal displacement parameters (Table 2) that likely give rise to low-energy features in the phonon spectrum as observed, for instance, in clathrates or tetrahedrites.29−36 Phase Characterization and Thermal Stability. The PXRD pattern of Ag3RbMo9Se11 refined in profile matching method is shown in Figure 4. According to this analysis, the

Figure 2. (upper) Crystal structure of the Ag3RbMo9Se11 in perspective view. (lower) Projection of the crystal structure along the (001) plane (the thermal ellipsoids are drawn at the 50% probability level).

lengths, shown in Table 3, are very close in the two isomorphous compounds Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 and Ag2.6CsMo9Se11 but differ significantly from those determined in the empty variant h-Mo9Se11. The similarity of the Mo−Mo distances reflects faithfully the identical metallic electron count (MEC); that is, electrons available for metal−metal bonding, equal to 35.6 in both compounds, while in the binary compound, the MEC is only 32. This is also confirmed by the average distances Mo−Mo in the Mo9 cluster that are 2.6922(4) and 2.6938(4) in Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 and Ag2.6CsMo9Se11, respectively, and 2.7313(7) in the binary. All these observations agree well with previous studies that showed that any change in the MEC induces variations of the Mo−Mo distances in the Mo9 cluster.20,27 The connective formula of the molybdenum− selenium framework is [Mo9Se5iSe6/2i‑a]Se6/2a‑i according to the notation of Schäfer.28 As shown by the Figure 2b showing the projection of the crystal structure of Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 onto the (a,b) plane, large hexagonal tunnels that are randomly filled by the Rb+ cations run along the c-axis. The Ag+ cations occupy partially positions in the mirror planes around the ternary axes between adjacent Mo9Se11 units located on the threefold axes. Its Se environment can be seen as a distorted square pyramid with Ag−Se bond lengths ranging from 2.6463(10) to 2.9261(9) Å (Figure 3). The Rb2 cations are in distorted tricapped trigonal prismatic selenium environment, while the

Figure 4. Profile matching method refinement of the PXRD pattern for polycrystalline Ag3RbMo9Se11. The experimental data are shown in red, while the overlaid solid black line corresponds to the calculated profile. The difference profile between the theoretical and experimental patterns is shown in blue. The vertical blue ticks stand for the Bragg reflections.

polycrystalline sample was found single-phase. On the one hand, as is often the case in chalcogenides with molybdenum clusters exhibiting cationic disorders, the refinement in Rietveld method has not yielded very reliable results. However, we could deduce the composition Ag3.1Rb1.3Mo9Se11. On the other hand, the silver atom occupying a position 6h, the stoichiometry in silver cannot exceed 3, and the cationic charge cannot be greater than +4 (i.e., 36 electrons per Mo9 cluster), we can conclude that the stoichiometry of the synthesized powder is 9687

DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01200 Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 9684−9692

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Inorganic Chemistry

Figure 5. BSE images and corresponding elemental X-ray maps of the consolidated polycrystalline sample used for transport properties measurements.

the DSC curve up to 800 K. The small mass increase observed in the TG curve upon heating (∼1.5% at 800 K) is likely due to slight surface oxidation during data collection. Electronic Transport Properties. The evolution of the electrical properties with the chemical compositions of compounds containing Mo cluster units can be rationalized by the MEC. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have shown that the MEC is equal to 32 electrons for the structural motif Mo9Se11, while a count of 36 is required to reach a semiconducting state.37 These additional electrons are provided by the elements inserted in the large channels of the crystal structure assuming ionic interactions between these cations and the Mo−Se clusters. For instance, in the AgxMo9Se11 phase, a semiconducting state is predicted for x = 4 supposing that the Ag atoms exhibit an oxidation state of

very close to Ag3RbMo9Se11. This is also confirmed by the elemental mappings along with the backscattered electron images (Figure 5), collected on a piece of the consolidated sample, which confirm the absence of secondary phases indicating that no thermal decomposition occurred during the HUP process. The chemical composition, estimated by energydisp ersive electron sp ect ro scopy (EDXS) t o be Ag2.9Rb1.1Mo9.2Se11 (normalized to 11 Se atoms per chemical formula), is close to the nominal composition. The X-ray elemental maps indicate a homogeneous distribution of all the elements. According to the TG−DSC analysis shown in Figure 6, Ag 3 RbMo 9 Se 11 does not exhibit any sign of thermal decomposition or phase transition in the temperature range covered. No endothermal or exothermal event is observed in 9688

DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01200 Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 9684−9692

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Inorganic Chemistry

with this prediction. ρ(T) follows an activated behavior, indicative of a semiconducting character. As most of the Mobased cluster compounds studied so far, α is positive in the investigated temperature range, suggestive of holes as the dominant charge carriers. This behavior is consistent with a Fermi level hosted in the top of the valence bands. As shown in Figure 7b, α(T) increases nearly linearly to 560 K. Above this temperature, the slope of α(T) is significantly lower, and α reaches a maximum of ∼150 μ V/K at 800 K. This variation in the slope of α(T) at high temperatures has also been observed in the cluster compound Ag2Tl2Mo9Se11.6 The TG−DSC analysis did not evidence any obvious thermal events around 560 K suggesting that this behavior might be purely electronic in origin and related to modifications in the balance between the electron and hole contributions to α. Thermal Transport Properties. The temperature dependence of the specific heat CP is depicted in Figure 8a. Near 300 K, CP approaches the Dulong−Petit value of 3NR. The CP(T) data follow a conventional Fermi-liquid dependence CP = γT + βT3only at very low temperatures. A fit of the CP(T) data following this relation confirms the semiconducting ground state of Ag3RbMo9Se11, synonymous with a null electronic contribution γ(T) to within experimental uncertainty. The phonon contribution characterized by the parameter β leads to a very low Debye temperature of 130 K. This value is consistent with those inferred in other cluster compounds.4−8 In cagelike materials such as clathrates,29−33 the low-energy excitations associated with the encaged atoms that exhibit the largest atomic displacement parameters (ADP) give rise to additional contributions to the specific heat at low temperatures. This excess specific heat is usually evidenced as a pronounced peak in the CP data plotted as CP/T3 versus T that can be adequately modeled by Einstein oscillators.29−33 Mobased cluster compounds feature similar contributions associated with the thermal vibrations of the cations located in the intercluster voids. Ag3RbMo9Se11 provides another example of a system with low-energy excitations as reflected by the peak visible in the CP/T3 (T) data (Figure 8b) at ∼3 K. Yet, a detailed analysis based on Einstein oscillators in these compounds is less straightforward due to a more complex lowenergy phonon spectrum than in clathrates.

Figure 6. TG−DSC traces for polycrystalline Ag3RbMo9Se11. The solid and dashed curves correspond to DSC and TG, respectively.

+1. Although a semiconducting state is not reached in these compounds due to the maximum Ag filling level of x = 3.8, the overall variations of the electrical properties are in agreement with this simple picture.4,5 Considering the similarity between the crystal structures of Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 and Ag2.6CsMo9Se11, the electronic structure of Ag2.6RbMo9Se11 should be very similar to the one of the cesium analogue. Previously, density functional calculations were performed on the model compound Ag3CsMo9Se11.20 These calculations showed that, for an MEC of 36 electrons, the Mo−Mo bonding and nonbonding bands are separated from the Mo−Mo antibonding bands by a band gap of ∼1 eV.20 Because of the ionic interaction between the alkaline and the Mo−Se clusters, the nature of the alkaline metal and its position in the channel hardly perturb the electronic structure of Ag3MMo9Se11 (M = Rb, Cs). Therefore, we can anticipate that Ag3RbMo9Se11 should be close to a semiconducting state as well, assuming that Ag and Rb are both in a +1 state. The variations in the electrical resistivity and thermopower as a function of temperature, shown in Figure 7a,b, respectively, are consistent

Figure 7. Temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity ρ (a) and thermopower α (b) for Ag3RbMo9Se11. 9689

DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01200 Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 9684−9692

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Inorganic Chemistry

Figure 8. (a) Specific heat CP as a function of temperature. The horizontal black solid line corresponds to the Dulong−Petit value. (b) Specific heat data plotted as CP/T3 vs T to visualize the low-temperature peak associated with the presence of low-energy excitations.

experimental transverse and longitudinal sound velocities, respectively.38 With νT = 1347 m/s and νL = 3287 m/s, this formula yields κmin ≈ 0.43 W m−1 K−1. This compound thus makes no exception to the general fact that Mo-based cluster compounds feature very low lattice thermal conductivity, a property that tends to be practically independent of the size and geometry of the clusters and of their spatial distribution within the unit cell. Dimensionless Thermoelectric Figure of Merit. The temperature dependence of the ZT values is shown in Figure 10. Despite the low thermal conductivity values, the rather large

These characteristics are likely important ingredients that are at the origin of the very low thermal conductivity κ values (Figure 9) that remain well below 1 W m−1 K−1 between 5 and

Figure 9. Total (red ●), electronic (green ▲), and lattice (blue ■) thermal conductivity as a function of temperature for Ag3RbMo9Se11. The lack of data between 250 and 300 K and the slight upturn observed above 200 K are due to thermal radiations that accompany the low-temperature measurements. The solid black line represents the theoretical minimum of the lattice thermal conductivity κmin.

800 K. The electronic thermal conductivity κe was estimated using the Wiedemann−Franz law κe = LT/ρ, where L is the Lorenz number. The variations in temperature of L were approximated by a single-parabolic-band model. While below 300 K κ ≈ κLdue to the high ρ values, κe reaches ∼30% of the total thermal conductivity at 800 K. κL slightly diminishes when the temperature increases to reach ∼0.6 W m−1 K−1 at 800 K. At high temperatures, these values are close to the minimum lattice thermal conductivity which can be calculated above the Debye temperature from κ min =

1 π 1/3 kBV −2/3(2vT 2 6

()

Figure 10. Temperature dependence of the dimensionless figure of merit ZT for Ag3RbMo9Se11.

electrical resistivity values lead to a moderate ZT of 0.4 at 800 K. Investigations of S and Te substitutions for Se in the sister compound Ag3.8Mo9Se11 have shown that both elements reinforce the metallic character of the electronic conduction.18 Hence, further optimization of the power factor of Ag3RbMo9Se11 through these isovalent substitutions on the Se sites might help to tune the electrical resistivity.

+ vL)where V is the average

volume per atom in the unit cell, and νT and νL are the 9690

DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01200 Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 9684−9692

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Inorganic Chemistry

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CONCLUSION We reported on the successful synthesis of the Ag3RbMo9Se11 cluster compound. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements performed at 300 K evidenced the high disorder induced by the Ag and Rb ions, both of them showing large ADP values. Within the temperature range of 300−800 K, the title compound is stable with no signs of phase transitions or mass loss. Ag3RbMo9Se11 shows very low thermal conductivity values (0.7 W m−1 K−1 at 800 K) due to the combination of a complex unit cell and large ADPs of the Ag and Rb ions. The high electrical resistivity and thermopower values are consistent with the valence electron count predicting than Ag3RbMo9Se11 should be close to a semiconducting state. A maximum ZT value of 0.4 is reached at 800 K, indicating that substitutions on the Ag sites might provide a route to achieving good thermoelectric properties. Further investigations with other substituting elements on the Ag site would be of interest and may lead to enhanced thermoelectric performances and/or to novel crystal structures with different Mo9Se11 cluster arrangement.

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ASSOCIATED CONTENT

Accession Codes

CCDC 1550722 contains the supplementary crystallographic data for this paper. These data can be obtained free of charge via www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/data_request/cif, or by emailing data_ [email protected], or by contacting The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, 12 Union Road, Cambridge CB2 1EZ, UK; fax: +44 1223 336033.

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author

*E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID

Patrick Gougeon: 0000-0003-4778-5581 Christophe Candolfi: 0000-0002-1248-5354 Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01200 Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 9684−9692